Digital Universe
by Hawk Goggles
Summary: Many different universes run parallel to each other. Even if the people are the same, the experiences are their own. Take a peek into the lives of the many different groups of the chosen children.
1. Missed Call

**Author's Note: Normally I save these for the end but this story is just a bunch of one-shots with some being connected to other fics I've written. If it is, I'll leave a note at the top. This is a companion piece for** _ **Crest Defined**_ **.**

 **Missed Call**

Many voices could be heard bouncing around the room. Grieving and condolences stood out, but complaints about reporters kept popping up just a frequently. Many adults also kept murmuring about a boy; one of the only two children present. He was the only child to make it back alive after months of searching. Through some miracle, the eight year old even made it back home on foot.

The only other child there was a girl of the same age. The brunette second grader sat by herself while her parents engaged with the other adults. Her sore eyes focused on the portrait of the children who didn't make it back. Her older brother's picture stared right back at her.

Her mind swarmed with ideas on how it could have happened; why it happened. It didn't help that she couldn't shake the images of those monsters out of her head as well. She wondered if they were the ones who took her brother away. While those monsters filled her with a sense of fear, they also gave her a feeling of wonder. It was that same sense of wonder that also had her eyes darting to the blond boy who the adults were whispering about.

The girl got up and made her way outside. She had seen the boy sneak away and go the same way. As she walked, she wondered if she could get him to tell her anything. She overheard her parents once say that the boy couldn't speak much after being found. She opened the door to the outside world and squinted at the intense light.

Against the bright light stood the blue eyed, boy. Anyone who had seen him previously would have described him as withdrawn. The experience in the mountains looked to have repressed his personality. However, the only thing the girl could see was a crying child. He looked as if he had been holding back his tears. His whole body shook in anger and anguish as he rubbed at his eyes. He rubbed as if he wanted to deny the fact that he was even crying at all. The grit of his teeth and the clench of his small fists showed his frustration.

The girl could only watch from the shadows. The boy who only politely bowed to everyone he was introduced to had an expression she had never seen before. She couldn't speak; she could hardly breathe. The only thing that stole the girl's focus was the approach of a man.

"Ah, you're the kid who made it back from the mountains all by himself, aren't you? I knew the funeral service was being held here." The man walked up to the boy. "I know you haven't talked to anyone about it but how about giving me a scoop," he bent down and placed a hand on the boy's shoulders. His grip was a little forceful, just to make sure the boy couldn't easily break away. "I hear it's easier to talk things out with people who you aren't close to and are unrelated. I won't judge you kid, I just want the facts." A slimy smile crossed his face.

The girl couldn't believe what she was seeing. While she didn't have a full grasp of how inconsiderate the man was being, she knew he was in the wrong. She gathered her courage and ran out the boy and grabbed his hand, "Um… Your mommy is looking for you. We should go back inside."

"Oh, you must be a sibling of one of the kids that died," the man hadn't released his grip, "don't you want to know what happened as well?"

Before the two eight year olds had any chance to react, a gruff voice rung out, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't bother my son and that girl there, especially on a day like today." A large man stood at the door taking a drag of his cigarette. "I do work for the local station, so I know how you feel about getting a story, but some lines shouldn't be crossed." He threw the butt to the ground and stomped it out, "the same can be said for people."

"Is that a threat?" the journalist asked. He got his answer, but not from the other man. He felt his palm suddenly heat up to an unbearable degree. He snatched his hand away from the boy and noticed that it had almost started to burn. Looking down, he was met with a glare he had only seen on some of the roughest of adults.

The girl lightly gasped the boy's demeanor. All of the sadness he once had, evaporated and the only thing left was that frustration she had seen. She was surprised to see that his eyes had changed from such a clear color of blue to a deep orange.

The boy had done more than just glare behind his shoulder. He looked over and found that his father had made his way over too him and the girl. The journalist backed away and left with a frustrated sigh and an agitated palm.

"How about I walk you two back in?" he offered one hand to each of them and escorted them back inside. "I know you're upset, but you can't go running off all by yourself, especially with everything that's happened." The father watched his son stare at the ground in front of them. "I'm sorry about all the trouble, little Miss.," he apologized to the girl. "I'd also like to thank you for looking after my son."

The girl didn't know what to say and could only nod. As they made it back into the main building she found her own family and left the two. Before she could leave earshot she heard a very quiet, "thank you." She turned around to see the boy looking at her. His clear blue eyes and quiet attitude had returned. He quickly followed up with a bit louder but even sadder sounding, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, at least you can still thank and apologize to a girl," the boy's father patted down his son's hair. "You'll have to do the same for your mother."

The girl wanted to say something as well. She wanted to talk, to know more about what the boy knew; about who he was. She sadly didn't get that chance. She could hear her mother call her name and the father and son duo had also made their move to leave. She could only watch their backs as her name kept being called out. 

* * *

A girl awoke to a hot summer's morning. Her eyes cracked open to the light that had flooded her room. She had spent the last night working on summer homework, in preparation for her yearly trip to the local mountain. She turned on her front and tried to gather herself to be fully awake. The dream she had awoken from and her mother's voice didn't seem to motivate her to move though.

"Hikari, it's time to wake up," The girl's mother called out again. "You need to get up now if you want to eat breakfast before you go, Tailmon has already finished hers."

With that said, a large white cat entered the room. "It's time for breakfast, Hikari; we've got a big day ahead of us." Tailmon had been living with the girl for a year, and was already a part of the family.

The girl murmured into her pillow before she found the willpower to lift her body. The fall of the covers revealed a light tank-top with only her underwear on. She wanted to find a pair of pants or shorts to put on but couldn't find the energy.

As she walked out of her room, she spotted the plate that had be left for her. Heat could still be seen coming off her food, so she was grateful that she wasn't too late. She sat down and managed to lazily bring a piece of toast to her mouth.

The girl's mother noticed her daughter's appearance and could only be thankful that they lived on a higher floor of the apartments. "Are you alright, sweetie?" She carefully asked, noticing her daughter's off mood. "You didn't stay up to late working on your homework, did you?" She watched Hikari just shake her head, no. "Are you worried about your trip to the mountain with Takeru?" Hikari didn't even bother to answer and just chomped at more toast.

The past year had been full of new things for the housewife. She had learned about what had happened to her son, years ago on those same mountains. Learned about how he had gone to a digital world full of monsters. If it hadn't been for Tailmon and Tsukaimon being in the real world, she would have called the boy her daughter had brought home, crazy.

She really had to thank her daughter for being as open with her as she could. She could have tried to hide Tailmon or the fact that she was going with an unknown boy to strange world on an almost daily basis. Hikari had been the one to push for the honesty while Takeru seemed a bit more reserved; but hearing his story, it would be hard for him not to be.

"Hey, mom," Hikari snapped her mother out of her recollection. "Do… do you ever feel like you've missed something important in your life? Like, you've missed some sort of big festival that you were supposed to be a part of."

"Like when I miss a sale at the market?" The woman saw an annoyed look on her daughter's face. "Now, now, I'll have you know that being a housewife wasn't my dream growing up. I actually wanted a job with a lot of travel. Like a stewardess or maybe an overseas journalist; one of those people who write about their experiences at different onsens for a magazine."

The girl had no idea that her mother was so adventurous. "Do you feel bad that you can't really do that now?"

"Who says I can't do that now? Even if I can't right this minute, I may be able to do it later. I'm not going to say that some dreams or events are as open and everlasting as traveling around, but it's up to each of us to define which ones are for ourselves."

Hikari chewed over her mother's words along with the rest of her breakfast. After she finished, she quickly freshened up and retreated back to her room to get dressed. Not only was she meeting Takeru at the mountains, they were also going to go to the digital world for a special festival. Takeru and Tailmon seemed excited about it, and even the stoic Tsukaimon looked more chipper.

"Hey, Hikari," Tailmon started, "are you sure you're feeling alright? I'm sure you still want to go on the trip but you don't have to participate in the festival when you get there."

"I'm participating too?" she questioned rhetorically as she pulled up her shorts. "Hey Tailmon, about what I asked mom earlier. Do you have something you feel like you missed out on?" She rummaged for a sleeveless shirt.

The cat digimon was taken aback by this question. The only thing on her mind was trying to figure out what Hikari was regretting. "Well, for me it would be not getting to meet you. I've always felt like I was missing something, but working for Vamdemon shoved those feelings aside. It was only after he was defeated by Takeru and NeoDevimon, did those feelings come back. Wizarmon joined me on my search around the digital world, but it was only after Takeru suggested coming to your world was I able to find you."

Hikari mulled over her partner's story, even if it only seemed to make her feel worse.

"It seems like what your mother said goes for me too; what about you?"

"If you say it like that, then the same goes for me as well," Hikari pulled out her desk chair and took a seat. She pulled Tailmon to her lap, "I just feel like I could have met you so much earlier, is all. If I hadn't missed camp because of my cold; or if I had remembered that I had met Takeru when we were younger."

"I can understand wanting to have contributed, but thinking about what happened to the other children, and what Takeru had to go through to get the strength to save the digital world without them… I'm kind of glad you weren't there for it all."

"But if that's the case, then what is the point of all this training Takeru is putting me through now? We work hard almost every day, but what is it for? You and I have gotten so strong but who's this power for?"

"Well," Tailmon got off and landed on the floor, "that's part of today's festival." She made her way to the door, "Make sure you don't forget your lunch and camera."

Hikari had no idea of what the day was to bring, but she hoped she could at least get out of this odd funk. 

* * *

The path to the monument and shrine was a simple one. This mountain was used by elementary schools as a camp site so it had to be easily hiked. Hikari and Tailmon made their way up the short hill off the main path and found a long haired blond down on his knees pulling out weeds around a memorial stand. They noticed a winged monster also biting at the overgrown plants. The piglet sized hamster monster noticed the two before his partner and made him aware that they weren't alone.

The blond looked over, "Yo, right on time," he waved. "I left the washing for you two," he pointed to a full bucket along with a cloth.

The two girls walked over and also got to work. "Takeru, how long have you been here?" Hikari asked.

"Awhile," he simply stated. "You got here on time so it's not like I've been waiting for you. I felt kind of restless this morning so I got here early." Takeru got up and gave the ground a once over to make sure he didn't miss anything. "You ready for today's events?"

"I still don't know what they are," Hikari wiped the dirt away. "You and Tailmon have been teasing me about it since the start of summer, and Tsukaimon's not gonna tell. For as serious a teacher you can be, you like to joke around too much."

The blue eyed boy couldn't help but laugh, "let's just say, the festival will put all those lessons and training to the test."

Hikari and Tailmon finished wiping down the monument and the four of them all paid their respects in silence. With everything cleaned, it was about time to go. Takeru motioned for Hikari to make their portal to the digital world. As she was about to raise her digivice, the call of her name froze her in place.

"Hikari!" the girl's mother ran up to meet the two, however she wasn't alone. The boy's father fallowed briskly behind as well. The two partner digimon ran off to their respective partner's parent.

"Mom, what are you doing here?!" Hikari gawked.

"Well, I thought it'd be nice to come up here and pay my respects to all of the children," she held Tailmon close. "After everything you told me, I guess I wanted some more closure. I didn't think I'd meet Mr. Ishida at the base of the mountain though."

"And why would you be here, pops?" Takeru asked.

"I also thought it would be nice to come and visit," he patted Tsukaimon, "the memorial… and the digital world."

"Wait, we can go to that other world too?" the housewife looked at the man.

"Can we?" he eyed his son.

"Can they?" Hikari also asked.

The long haired blond looked off the side of the mountain. Could they? If a few digimon could cross right over to their world without any problems, then there shouldn't be a problem the other way around.

"We could give it a try," he scratched the back of his head, "but are you sure you want to come Mrs. Yagami? My pops is naturally curious, but it is a world full of monsters."

The housewife thought for quite a while of what it meant to go to another world. About what going to that world mean to her. "I would also like to go to the digital world," she managed to smile. "I'm sure Tailmon and Hikari can keep me safe."

"Besides, you're going for some sort of festival, right?" Mr. Ishida smirked. "Tsukaimon looked really excited last night so I'm expecting some fun and games."

Takeru couldn't help but sigh in defeat, "then I guess you two would want to pay your respects before you go."

Hikari soaked in the rare look on Takeru's face. Seeing the grin on his dad's face helped her understand where he got his casualness from. It was pretty fun to see him backed against a wall. She had only seen Tailmon be able to push his buttons by being the only one able to talk back to him.

She watched the parents pay their respects to the lost children. Even if Takeru had called it a festival she still didn't know what to expect for the digital world. Did Takeru want to give her a day of fun? She looked into the sky and wondered what types of festivals digimon would throw. 

* * *

The digital world was as beautiful as ever. The trees stood tall and the flowers grew plentiful. File Island had an amazing little ecosystem that spanned multiple seasons. The two adult's couldn't avert their eyes. How similar to their world it was, yet also extremely different.

It didn't take the group long to reach their destination. The grass of the forest tapered off into a green checkered patterned ground. The trees turned into giant shapes. Soft cubes and triangles or all sizes littered the area. Just over a small hill, a large group of digimon of all sizes and levels could be seen.

"Ah, Takeru, Hikari!" a small child like digimon called out. She led the charge that was followed by a bunch of Fresh levels. The small digimon latched on to Hikari at the top of the hill while Takeru was tackled over by the over excited babies.

"It's nice to see you again, Minervamon," Hikari hugged the Ultimate digimon back.

The armored Ultimate looked up and noticed two people she hadn't seen before. Even if they were hidden behind a snake helmet, the sparkle in her eyes could be felt. "No way, Takeru, you told me that humans can't digivolve. Hikari's evolved form is so pretty, and the other one…" she stared, "even though they're a different color, he still has the same sharp eyes as you." Takeru couldn't help but glare up at the digimon. "Now even the lines on your faces match."

Mr. Ishida couldn't help but rub beneath his eyes to check for wrinkles that might have appeared because of his work. Mrs. Yagami on the other hand couldn't hide her smile even if she tried.

"What a cutie," the woman cooed, "but I'm not a digimon. I'm Hikari's mother." She watched the small digimon look her up and down.

"Mother?" the small god-man digimon asked aloud. She received a nod of conformation. "Ah, I remember Takeru telling me about this. Humans come from human mamas." Before she could ask any more questions, a pair of hands scooped her up from behind.

Takeru placed the small battle maiden on his shoulders and looked to the others. "I'm gonna take this one down there and try to get things ready for the festival. You guys can play with the babies for a while until we sort everything out." He motioned for Tailmon and Tsukaimon to follow him to the base of the hill.

The others watched as Takeru reached the bottom of the hill. He was quickly swarmed by even more digimon.

"So, who are some of those digimon?" Mr. Ishida asked.

"Well," Hikari started, "the small red and purple one with peacock feathers is Electmon. The lion-man with the orange mane and turbines on his arms is, GrapLeomon. The scarecrow magician is, Wizarmon. Finally, the android is, well, Andromon."

The group watched Takeru converse with the many different digimon. They all seemed to be debating something. Takeru quickly got things back under control and broke off from the digimon and returned up the hill.

"So…" he started slow, "every August, me and Tsukaimon come to digital world to catch up with everyone and have some fun. We tend to meet the others by a lake that's not too far from here. When we get there it should be about time for lunch."

"Huh, you made it seem like this trip was such a big deal last night?" the boy's father brought up.

"Did I?" Takeru picked up a baby digimon and started to lead the way. The others were quick to fallow behind him as he made his way to the lake.

The trip took no time at all but everyone still found time to chat. Mr. Ishida really hit it off with GrapLeomon. It might have been their gruff demeanors meshing with each other. Mrs. Yagami kept Minervamon company as the small digimon was full of questions. Takeru and Hikari were surprised she still had more to ask.

"Ah, Minervamon, I have a question this time," Mrs. Yagami spoke up. "Do you know that happened on that mountain?" She pointed to the large mountain that was at the center of File Island.

"That's Infinity Mountain," Takeru looked ahead.

"And what happened to it? There's a large chunk carved out of it. It's as if someone took and ice-cream scoop to it."

"That happened because of a fight I had there once."

An odd silence overtook the group. The digimon there tried their best to keep their stares to themselves and not look to the leading blond. The humans couldn't take their eyes off the mountain.

Hikari's were always drawn to the scares on the mountain's face. Mrs. Yagami was reminded that no matter how cute some of these creatures appeared, they were monsters that could easily kill. Mr. Ishida was amazed at the power displayed. With Tsukaimon as his only reference, he had only expected digimon to be as dangerous as any animal on Earth. Even something a fearsome as GrapLeomon didn't look strong enough to leave a mountain with that kind of dent.

"What tremendous strength," the older man marveled.

A sharp smirk crossed the boy's face, "not strong enough."

"So, dependable," Mrs. Yagami clasped her hands together playfully. She looked ahead and spotted phone towers sticking out of the water. "Is that the lake? Oh, there are even more digimon ahead"

Even more digital monsters waited by and some even inside the lake. Takeru ran ahead once again to relay some information. There was a large commotion but it quickly died down.

The lake was the perfect spot for a picnic. The only problem was the amount of food. Takeru and Hikari didn't bring enough to share with their parents. Somehow in the rush, the two adults didn't think to bring anything for themselves. Takeru told them not to mind and the two teens gave up their lunches. The blond suggested that the two of them forage for their own food.

Hikari was thankful for the survival training Tailmon and Takeru put her through. It had only been a year but she had managed to learn quite a bit about the digital world, digimon, and living in the wild. She had already caught and started cooking fish so all she needed now was to get some fruits as a side dish. She was looking up at the trees for anything she could eat when something rustled not far off. She turned and found Takeru making his way off to Infinity Mountain alone. She looked back out to the lake and found Tsukaimon and Tailmon sharing food and talking with their parents and the other digimon. She decided to fallow behind the boy as sneakily as she could.

Takeru didn't even bother with the normal path up the mountain and easily scaled its side with help from his crest as a makeshift platform. Hikari was once again grateful of the things she had been taught and could easily keep up with the boy. She had moved a bit of a ways down before she made her own accent so she wouldn't be spotted. She crept around the corner and watched the boy stare at the large crater that dug into the mountainside.

"I know you're there, Hikari," the boy's long hair flowed in the breeze. "If you wanted to sneak up on me you should have ran up the mountain instead of using your crest." Not once did he motion to look at her.

The short haired brunette moved from behind her rocks and stood behind him. Takeru had told her of what had happened on Infinity Mountain during his first adventure. About how that was where her brother and everyone else had lost their lives.

"So…" she didn't know where to start, "I'm assuming you come here every year just like me with the memorial.

"…Yep," he was still unmoving.

"When you made that comment about not being strong enough; you were talking about yourself, right?"

"Right…"

"You know, you've never went into detail about what really happened that day." She had wanted to know more but the boy had always looked too distant to bring it up in detail. It never once showed directly on his face, but his eyes had always given him away.

"…" he kept quiet as the wind howled once more, "we were fighting Devimon when he suddenly grabbed me and Patamon. Patamon started to digivolve but even that amount of danger wasn't enough to complete it. The others kept attacking to try and free us but their digimon had already hit their limits."

The wind came to an abrupt stop, "Devimon decided that he had, had enough of it. He stopped focusing on the digimon and started killing the others. I couldn't see anything but Patamon's light but I could easily hear what was going on. With every scream came a beam of light that hit Patamon. After the seventh one, he was able to digivolve and that alone was enough to decimate Devimon. I was blinded by that harsh light and the next thing I knew I woke in Primary Village. The only thing Leomon was able to bring back from the mountain was my brother's harmonica."

Hikari didn't know what to say. Whenever she had asked Takeru to tell her about his adventures, it was obvious that he abridged things. Even when she asked Tailmon to clarify some parts, her partner refused to give anything away about the boy. She understood why he did it. She knew that just knowing why things happened should be enough for her but…

She watched the blond with determination, "I know it can be hard but can't you tell me these things so I don't make any mistakes. I know that I already missed my chance but I at least want to feel like I can protect this world." The girl finally managed to put her unease into words for the first time that day.

"I don't tell you these things so you **don't** make the same mistakes I did," he finally turned around. "This power we have runs off our emotions, our state of mind; and it manifests in the form of a crest. I don't want you thinking about anything unnecessary while you're fighting. I want you to figure out digivolving without my help but with Tailmon's. Once you hit Ultimate, and only then, will I think about sharing my own tricks. Tricks I relied on in battles I can't go into further details about until you reach a higher level."

Hikari couldn't help but think that the boy in front of her was stupid. He hadn't understood a bit of what she was really trying to say. For someone who easily saw through others, he only looked for the things he wanted to see.

"Also, get that stupid idea of being useless out of your head," Takeru asserted. "Even if you had shown up in the beginning, you wouldn't have been able to do anything, seeing how Tailmon was working for Vamdemon."

Maybe he wasn't as oblivious as she had thought.

"If you're feeling guilty about not being here from the start, keep training to make up for that lost time. If you're still upset after that, then take it out of me for not coming to find you sooner." He walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on," he turned her around, "sunset is in a few hours and we still haven't eaten yet. You'll need the energy for the rest of the festival."

Hikari fallowed him back to the lake while glaring at him the entire time. Her earlier problems may have been solved, but the way the boy helped only frustrated her. It was childish, but she couldn't help but be bitter about how right he was. Not once had she ever thought of blaming him. She just wanted to find a place of her own in protecting the digital world.

The trip back was short and uneventful as the two also managed to pick some fruit along the way. They both came back to a scene of their parents in deep conversation with the digimon. When Hikari was about to ask what they were talking about, she heard GrapLeomon give a retelling of what she had heard on the mountain. She looked over to the boy who just shrugged at her. She knew then that he had planned on telling her everything today, even if she hadn't fallowed him, yet she knew he had probably planed for that as well. Her irritation only grew at the thought of being played with again. Why couldn't he just be straightforward with his feelings and talk to her normally?

Takeru casually glanced at the glaring girl. He wondered when he should tell her that the only reason he decided to find her was to keep a promise he had made to another Hikari from another alternate world. Judging by the scowl on her face, it wouldn't be anytime soon.

The rest of the day was spent talking, playing, and eating. More digimon such as, Pultomon, and Orgmon showed up looking for a brawl. Takeru had a handful calming the two down. It didn't help when Minervamon wanted to get involved, and to keep things short, let's just say that no one had dessert that day.

The adults looked to be having fun with the multiple digimon. Mrs. Yagami found a MetalGreymon that had arrived, very interesting. Mr. Ishida on the other hand seemed to have an affinity towards beast-man type digimon, as he shared a drink with a WereGarurumon. While it looked like those two were fully engrossed in their own conversations, they kept an eye out for their own children. They both watched the two get into what seemed to be an argument. Hikari, at least made it look that way. Mrs. Yagami had never seen her daughter be so aggressive before. Mr. Ishida noticed that his son seemed more open than normal as well.

The sun was finally beginning to set, when Takeru got up and walked towards the lake. He turned back around to face everyone and started giving a speech. "I'd like to thank all of you for coming here today. It's been fun catching up with everyone, but I'm sure that's not why you all actually came here."

All of the digimon quieted down while the humans perked up.

"You all came here for one thing…" the blond smirked, "and that's to see if someone can steal the title of, Demon Lord, away from me." He watched as the digimon erupted into cheers. "Well, it's actually the title of the strongest so call it whatever you want. Unlike the past years, we have another human joining us in the battle so I lets run though the rules extra clearly this year."

Hikari couldn't believe that this is what he brought her here for. Takeru was the only person she knew who would hold a fighting festival. While she wanted to fight for and protect the digital world, she wasn't a battle junkie like he was. She knew she couldn't get out of if either, not with how excited Tailmon looked.

"The rules are the same as ever. It's all of you against me and Devimon." The small purple hamster digivolved into a black devil and stood beside his partner. "We start with the Adult levels, and move up from there. Everyone's first attack must be focused on me or my partner digimon. The last mon standing at each level bracket gets to move up to the next one. If you somehow manage to digivolve during battle you must bow out until that next round begins. Remember that this is also a battle royal against your peers, so if you want to take the chance to take out other participants to make it to the top, I'm not gonna stop you. Last one standing is the winner, got that?"

Mr. Ishida was surprised at sudden exclamation from his son and the now roaring crowd of monsters. He hadn't ever seen a digimon fight before and he didn't know if he wanted to see it be against his own son. He had seen the burns and scars his child carried, but he also knew that the fact that he carried those and kept going meant that the boy would be okay.

Mrs. Yagami on the other hand was more withheld about the whole idea. She looked over at Minervamon and Tailmon and wondered how those two little digimon could fight something like MetalGreymon. How could her daughter fight with them? She knew the girl was, "training," but she thought it only amounted to things like catching fish, like she had seen before. She watched her daughter get up and confront the boy.

"So you're saying I get to keep going, as long as I can digivolve Tailmon?" Hikari questioned.

"That's right," Takeru hummed. "By the way, while you two _are_ working as a pair, if one of you gets knocked out, the other may continue."

"You say battle royal, but like you said at the start, every digimon is gonna be gunning for you."

"That's the point. As the strongest, you have to be able to take on the feelings of everyone that comes at you, be it friend or foe. Now… are you and Tailmon going to fight right off the bat, or what?" He watched the girl pull the cat digimon away from the rest of the digimon lining up and digivolved her. Takeru looked up at the blond, white and pink angel. "Good, then let's get this show on the road." 

* * *

Angewomon and Daemon stared each other down from above the ground. Their partners mirrored their looks while gasping for breath. Somehow the female angel and new girl were the last ones standing against the Demon Lord duo. That was thanks to the rules and the fact that Minervamon and Pultomon took each other out. Bother teens stored the fact that a digimon's grudge over food was not to be taken lightly.

Hikari watched as Takeru raised his hands to direct another attack. With one point of his fingers, flames rushed past her. She lifted her arms to shield her eyes from the harsh light and in preparation for the rest of the attack.

As predicted, she caught Takeru moving through the flames and managed to divert one palm thrust. She blocked the other, aiming for her abdomen, but was caught off guard when she felt her feet leave the ground. Her guard had been seen though and countered by a throw. Her back hit the ground harshly as the flames died down around her.

She quickly managed to scramble to her feet as she watched her partner falter in the air. With her attention diverted, she only noticed the rushing boy a second too late. A makeshift shield using her crest barely managed to protect her face. However, this time the boy didn't just strike but dug his fingers into the crest, trying to brake though it as if it was a thin sheet of ice.

The crowd in the background roared for the girl's victory. Her mother's yells were the loudest and fiercest. However, what the boy in front of her was trying to convey was at a higher priority. Even when haggard from one fight after another, a feeling of superiority radiated off of his body. It wasn't a feeling of her being weak, but one of him being unstoppable.

She had never seen him get this serious. His eyes glared through her shield and it felt as if they alone could catch her ablaze. While she never thought of herself as much of a fighter, it was hard not to fell a bit of excitement from such a stare.

As her crest crumbled before her eyes, the only thing that came to mind was the conversation they had shared on Infinity Mountain. He had told her to challenge and change herself; that he would accept her feelings of unease; to express something with Angewomon. This festival was the perfect place for that and he knew it. This was a place he would be able to give her his all, so that meant she would have to do the same.

She grabbed for her digivice and pushed against him. The impending light blew him away and enveloped her and her partner. Her crest appeared at her feet as the light exploded outward. In Angewomon's place stood and even larger angel with ten golden wings. The angel's teal-green armor and golden javelin radiated in the setting sun light.

Silence rested onto the battlefield as everyone stared at the new Ultimate. She knew that if she was ever going to attack, now would be the time. The only oddity was that she hadn't missed it, even by a chance. As she watched her partner hurl the javelin at Daemon, she caught the look on his face; focused, yet unmoving. She had never seen him this off guard before.

That look of wonder was soon replaced with one of shared pain as Daemon was stuck with the attack. The large demon digimon was forced to the other side of the lake, splitting the water as he sped by. As the sound of the loud crash reached the audience's ears, a roar erupted from them. All cheered for the girl's triumph.

However, she couldn't savor her own victory, not yet. Not while he was still standing. This had been something she hand only seen in fiction, but the boy in front of her kept her on guard, even as unmoving as he was. Her diligence was rewarded with the appearance of his own crest. He wasn't done yet and neither was she.

She had seen his crest many times before, but this time it was clearly different. It wasn't its usual orange tint, and something else was forming around it. Triangles rested at the top half of the circle and a large shape rested beneath. She couldn't figure out what the symbol meant. Was it the sun rising over a mountain or a shooting star? No matter what it was, it was the last thing she saw before being blinded by a green light. 

* * *

Everything hurt. She hadn't thought that light could explode the way it did. The only thing keeping her together was the fact that her head was resting on something soft. She slowly opened her eyes and rested them on her mother.

"Goodnight, Hikari," the mother greeted.

The girl looked around and noticed that the sun had set. Stars littered the sky and the moon was full and bright. She sat up and rubbed her still throbbing forehead. "I lost…" she sighed. She looked down and noticed that Plotmon was resting on her own lap.

"You really surprised me. I didn't know what to expect when this whole thing happened. You almost scared me to death when you collapsed."

Hikari averted her gaze, "sorry," was all she could say. She had mentioned learning to protect herself before, but had never gone into detail about it. She couldn't forget the shock on her mother's face when she said she'd be fighting too. "I guess I kind of put you off to the digital world, huh?"

"Well, I don't think I could take a vacation here…" her mother laughed, "but I think this is still an amazing place." She pulled her daughter's head back to her lap and gently messaged it.

"You don't hate it here?"

"I know you must think that I would hate this world to taking your brother from us, but…" She stopped short with a pensive look. She took a breath, "look, when you first came to us about this strange world with stranger monsters, it was a lot to take in. I found out where my son had died but I still didn't feel any different. I didn't feel any more anger or any less sadness. You on the other hand looked completely different to me. Your eyes sparkled with determination to go off to this unknown world and do… whatever it is you do here. That's why when Mr. Ishida brought up coming to this world, I jumped at the chance. I Thought that maybe coming here would change me as well."

"I never knew you could be so deep, mom," Hikari chuckled. "So, did something change?"

Mrs. Yagami released a soft laugh, "other than the way I look at my daughter, nothing's too different. I did however gain a better perspective on this world. It's very different from our own but it's mostly the same. It's full of creatures great and small, all with their own personalities and beliefs. As a whole, I shouldn't treat this world any differently than our own."

"Then what's changed about me?" Hikari stirred in her mother's lap a bit.

"Before coming here, you were a bit reserved," she brushed her hand through her daughter's hair. "It's not much but there's a bit more pep in your step and voice. Let's just say you're a bit more like your brother was."

A smile graced Hikari's lips.

The moon's reflected rays beamed down on the lake. The sight was beautiful if not odd, telephone poles withstanding. The lake's calm waters reflected a party that was dying down.

Mr. Ishida's cup tilted back just the slightest bit before giving his son a glance. "That sure was one heck of a sight," he congratulated. "I can't believe you two fought off that many monsters."

"I can't believe I'm still alive after that last attack," Takeru said from the ground. Tsukaimon was resting on his stomach as he stared up at the stars.

The father's laugh bellowed loudly though the night. It was only when he realized that he was the only one laughing that he spoke again, "hey, you laugh too or I'm really going to get worried." He heard his son release a chuckle of his own before he kept speaking, "But I was really rooting for the little Miss. She looked like she was really giving it her all."

"Yeah, well you can't win all of the time," he scratched behind his partner's ears. "Besides she's way stronger than I was after just a year. It's kind of annoying."

Mr. Ishida took another sip, "don't sound so petty. You didn't have a teacher, and I'd say she has the advantage of having a pretty good one if she came this far in just a year."

Takeru rocked side to side in the dirt, "I guess you're right," he grumbled.

"You're really letting it all out today. You normally joke around instead of actually talking to me, but with that girl around, you open right up. You know what they say about a good woman."

Sarcasm could almost be seen exiting Takeru's mouth in the form a grunt. "How drunk _are_ you right now?"

"This stuff couldn't even put down Tsukaimon. How about you try some?" he wondered out loud. He watched Takeru sit up and look him in the eye. He filled the small saucer cup and stretched it out to his dubious son. He matched his son's cocked eyebrow as a form of challenge.

Takeru took the cup and stared down the clear liquid. He had no idea what his father was even drinking and it wasn't like smelling it would help. He did the only thing he could think of and took it all in one go. That's what movies had taught him.

Mr. Ishida tried to hold in his laughter at his son's many faces; shock, determination, a cracking resolve, and finally the decisive action. He completely lost his composure when the after taste hit the boy.

His chuckle covered his son's moans, "it seems you're still just a kid after all."

"That's it, I'm taking you home," Takeru got to his feet and staggered to the front of the lake. His body shuddered, not at the cool air but the bruises he had gained that day. The ensuing numbness and breezy air managed to calm him down though.

"Listen up!" he turned to the digimon. "As your continuing Demon Lord, I'd like to thank all of you for coming out and participating." He looked the crowed over with a smile, "I know that if anything would attack the digital world within the coming year, I can count on all of you to do your best to protect it." He was almost pushed back by the amount of cheers.

"I have something I want to say too!" Hikari shot up to the front of the lake, her face flushed. "I know I've only been with you all for only a short while, but this past year has meant a lot to me." She kept shifting her weight from side to side, "I want to thank you all for being there to help me adjust and to promise that I'll also be doing my best to protect your world." Cheers once again erupted from the vicinity.

Takeru didn't let the girl's louder applause get to him… much. He looked Hikari over and wondered how much stronger she could get. His gaze was about to return to his father until he noticed that something was off.

"Are you alright?" The blond cocked and eyebrow.

"Yes!" the brunette asserted. "I saw you take a drink and thought I'd have one too; just one."

He noticed that what looked like her shifting her weight was more likely wobbling. "Yep, definitely time go home." As he went to pull her along, he felt his center of gravity flip over. His back hit the watery shore of the lake with a loud splash.

"Not yet," the girl's face closely smiled over him. "You're way more tired than I am and if I beat you now, you might start to take me more seriously, and stop teasing me."

Not only was she holding a grudge from losing, she was still upset about earlier. Takeru stored the fact that Hikari was literally a brutally honest drunk in the back of his mind. As for now, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down into the water as well.

"Don't go getting cocky just because I'm a little winded," he reversed their positions, "and another thing…" He stopped as the girl turned her face away. He was just about to turn her head when he suddenly fell back into the shallow water.

Hikari dashed away as fast as she could. "Plotmon, mom, where going home, now!" she yelled. She raised her digivice and a portal appeared behind her mother and partner. She picked up her digimon and dragged her mom by hand to the opening in space.

"Wow, Hikari, I don't think I've ever seen your face so red," Plotmon gawked.

"It seems she's sobered up," Mrs. Yagami chuckled. Before she was dragged through the portal, she called out one last time, "Takeru, please continue looking after my daughter, no matter how embarrassed she gets."

Takeru picked himself up once more and watched the portal blink close. His glare looked as if it would force the portal back open. The feeling of Tsukaimon landing on his head brought him back to the lake. That wasn't the only surprise as his father suddenly wrapped his arm around him.

"It seems you still don't know how to deal with women," Mr. Ishida chuckled. He noticed his son doing his best to not pay him an attention. As he watched the boy opened a portal that would send them home, he let a few more words slip, "I could give you a few pointers if you want." His only reply was a shove and an irritated growl. 

* * *

**AN: So I guess this is my first time writing for Odaiba Day. I've had this story done for maybe half a year now while writing a bunch of other stuff. That being said, I'm glad I'm getting out though.**

 **This is a continuation of Takeru's story from** _ **Crest Defined**_ **. In this universe, all of the other children died in the fight with Devimon and Takeru had to fend for himself. That being said, this story focuses on Hikari and her place in this world. She didn't have to fight off some giant evil so I thought about how someone would deal with the feelings of missing their call to duty.**

 **Because Hikari had already interacted with the digital world for about a year, I let her mother carry the plot of coming to terms with what happen to the children. It let me write about the relationship she had with her daughter and writing for the parents was pretty interesting. The ever calm and collected Hiroak served as her foil.**

 **I find Takeru's and Hikari's dynamic really interesting if you try to contrast them; especially if you contrast they ideals of responsibility and independence. Their lines are drawn so differently from each other and when you add in their experiences they would come to completely different interpretations. This still isn't where I get to explore that idea fully but I got to touch on that a bit this time.**

 **As always, I'm grateful if you read this story in full or just gave it a passing glance. Please leave a comment if it moved you enough. I hope you enjoy the other one-shots that are to come.**


	2. The Death of the Kaiser

**The Death of the Kaiser**

The harsh mid-day sun filled the dark corridor of the airship. The light flickered back and forth as the ship quaked after taking a direct hit. Two boys were on the ground, trying their best not be shaken off balance.

One of the boys tried his best to shield his eyes from the bright rays. The room had been dark enough even without having his shades punched off of his face. That however made him a sitting duck for another smack, followed by a tackle to the ground. His beating would have continued if it wasn't for the worm like creature that dared call itself his partner.

"Are you alright, Ken?" the worm monster scurried over to his partner after tackling the other human boy.

"Don't touch me," he swatted the monster away. "How many times have I told you not to get near me? I don't need you! I never did, and never will!"

"Big talk coming for someone who was getting his face beat in," the other boy got to his feet, blond hair disheveled. His own partner, a hamster with batwings for ears, floated right next to him.

"Takeru, we need to help the others," Patamon, urged the blond.

The blue eyed blond looked out the hole that was created by the monster's attack. It had been the reason the ship shook. His friends were flying around in circles doing their best not to get hit. He looked over to the opponent facing him. He noticed the little green worm do it's best to try and convince its partner to stop the rampaging monster. It only took a moment for the boy to smirk.

Takeru gave a quick shout and the large hamster transformed into a golden armored Pegasus. "Back them up but lead it back to the ship," the blond ordered.

"What!?" the digimon exclaimed. "But it will destroy the ship, with _you_ still on it."

"When you lead it back you also have to pick me up. Then we'll make our escape."

"Quit screwing around," Ken focused back on the boy. "You think I'm just gonna let you do whatever you want?" his voice cracked. Why was no one listening to him today; the day when he had finally made his perfect partner? It didn't make any sense.

"Oh, and you're gonna stop me?" the boy's question was rhetorical; his winged horse was already flying away.

Ken couldn't help but smirk at the blonds' defiance, "so it seems like at least one of you has a backbone. Finally decided to play the game correctly? Good, sacrifice the digimon on this ship and your, 'partner,' just for the chance to defeat me. Let me warn you however, that won't happen."

The blonds' stare became dull, "what kind of, 'game,' do you think we're playing?"

"A game of complete conquest," the Kaiser answered. "That's why I was given the dark towers and evil rings. But I must admit that you children have pushed me to improve my methods. So for that I guess you have my thanks."

"You have no idea of what's going on, do you?" Takeru sighed. "What of the partner you were given?"

Ken's eyes grew sharp, "that was the only mistake."

The sharp words pierced the small worm's heart as tears started to well in its eyes.

"And you're alright with all of that?" the blue eyed boy asked the worm digimon. "You don't have to stay with him, you know. Patamon did pretty well by himself whenever we had a fight. Heck, you digimon don't even need us kids for you to digivolve."

Tears ran down the green monster's eyes, "I just want the real, kind Ken back."

Ken gritted his teeth in annoyance at insect's crying. This hadn't been the first time he had brought up his past; a past that hadn't happened. He had always been a perfect human being. Kindness was something the weak used to band together to try and make believe that they were strong.

Pity washed over Takeru's features, "you two are pathetic. During my first adventure, I fought with Patamon a couple of times, but we were still able to make up with each other. If I learned one thing about having a digimon partner, it's that you have to be honest with them when something is wrong. Not just about the things you want from one another but also the things you don't like about them as well. When you think what they're doing is wrong, and if you're going to do anything about it."

A triangle beam of green light shot through the corridor. "Pegasusmon, good work," the blond gazed through the hole. A mismatched monster was hot on his partner's tail.

"We need to get out of here," the winged horse urged.

"But this place doesn't feel like it's falling out of the sky yet," the blond examined.

"That's because I made him aim for the water while I rescued the others. You're plan is nonsense, especially since we're still over the whirlpool."

"The others are safe aren't they?"

"They're waiting for you on some of the islands. Once we leave, all of us can regroup and try again later." Pegasusmon did his best to rush his partner.

"I keep telling you all to listen to me, so you had better start!" Ken snapped back to attention. He had been ignored for the last time. "When will you learn that you don't have a choice in this game? Your only reason for being here is to be defeated by me. I'm deleting you," he pointed at the blond, "your partner, and the rest of your friends, today!"

The corridor silenced at that sudden exclamation. The digimon stared in horror at the boy's words. The only thing that could be heard was a monstrous roar in the background. A flash of green and orange over took their sight. The floor between the two pairs had been disintegrated.

A chill crept down the Kaiser's spine at the sight of the attack's devastation. His head shook as he turned to look at his own creation. Chimeramon's eyes froze the boy in place. Had he really created that monstrosity himself? His senses rushed back along with the other child's voice.

"Let me tell you two more things, Ichijouji," Takeru mounted his partner. "First, if either of us dies here, it's for real. Second, there's no way a guy who can't even evolve his partner can kill me; be it him, his partner, or his pet monster outside."

"…Takeru" the flying horse couldn't help but be worried at his partner egging the other boy on.

"Being worried won't help us anymore," the blond explained. "You heard him yourself; we're playing for keeps today. Let's finish off this base." He directed his partner to the opening made by Chimeramon , "if you ever pull yourself together, I'll be glad to finish things with you then." The two made their way deep into the fly fortress.

Stunned by the boy's words and the fear crawling on his back, Ken could do nothing but watch as the two retreated further in. The dread from going into the whirlpool suddenly rushed him at once. His breathing sped up and his chest started to tingle and feel tight. His jaw clenched as his eyes shut as tight as they could.

Wormmon watched his partner suffer. He could feel all of the boy's anxieties radiate off of his body. Before he could even lift an appendage, the airship was hit once more. This sent him and the boy tumbling down the hole in the floor.

The airship's curved bottom meant that there was nothing but the gaping black hole of the center of the whirlpool below them. Ken couldn't help screaming at his watery doom. All of his most recent fears had been fully realized in only a matter minutes. It's not that he thought that screaming would help but he couldn't help it. His instincts kicked in and there was no longer anything else he could do.

His screams only stopped when he felt someone's arms come around him. It took all he had to be able to turn his head and look at the insect digimon that had saved him. It was large and humanoid, but their pair of bug wings was more than strong enough to get back to the flying base. It took the boy more than a moment to gather himself after touching solid ground once again, but his eyes never left the insect digimon.

"Are you alright, Ken?" asked the large bug-man.

"Who… who are you?" the boy shook.

"It seems you don't remember this form either," the digimon sighed. "I'm Stingmon," he quickly regained his composer as best he could; "I evolved from Wormmon."

"There's no way," Ken shouted. "That useless little digimon could never evolve into something like you." For some reason the boy was getting defensive of the new evolution and he didn't know why. "It's obvious that you aren't Wormmon. Wormmon's… Wormmon… …I" The boy clenched his teeth and held his head in pain. His mind felt as if it was going to split in half.

Stingmon watched the boy with a mixture of panic and frustration. He didn't know how to help him. He could only hold on to the boy beneath him.

Ken tried as hard as he could to shut his eyes even tighter. His adrenaline had gone down enough to feel some on the nicks he had got in the fall. As he moved his arm to check his sides, his fingers brushed against his digivice. He noticed that it was glowing and grabbed for it. As he stared at the screen the bright light grew and enveloped his vision.

Stingmon watched the light fade as quickly as it came. It was as if all of his senses had left him for only a second but as soon as he could see clearly again they all came back. The only difference he noticed as Ken who was still on his knees and unmoving. He watched the boy slowly get to his feet and undo the clasps of his cape. As the large shoulder pads crashed to the floor, the tattered cape fell into the darkness of the whirlpool.

Ken took a deep breath, "…that kid was right …I don't know anything. Not of this world, the darkness, you …me" he stared at the darkness beneath the ship. He promptly turned and moved to an intercom on one of the inner walls. He pushed the button "whoever is closest to the controls, I need this ship above this whirlpool, pronto. If anyone runs into the blond kid and his digimon, stay out of their way. Finally, Chimeramon, cease your rampaging at once." The monstrous yelling from outside quieted down.

"Ken…" Stingmon breathed. As the boy turned to him he noticed that he had changed. His eyes were different, but they still weren't full of kindness like the one's he remembered. "Do you still not remember anything? Even after seeing that light from the digivice."

For the first time in a long while, a look of sadness graced the boy's face, "nothing. It seems like the only thing that light did was clear away the fog that has been clouding my mind. More so than fog, what it actually blew away was my ego." He somehow managed to give a small smile.

"Then does that mean—" Stingmon was about to stop this whole Kaiser charade but Ken cut him off.

"None of this stops;" before Stingmon could even ask Ken continued, "not yet anyway. I don't know why I started this, why I forgot about the digital world, but I must have done all of this for some reason. I'm not saying I want to keep going around destroying and enslaving digimon but I'm not giving up on this base or Chimeramon. I understand if you don't want to help but I'll still be using the digimon in this base until we get to somewhere better to drop them off."

The green insect digimon was confused and unsure of how to feel. He had always hated how Ken had acted since he came back to the digital world. Even so, he too had encouraged some of his bad behavior as the Kaiser, even if his actions weren't taken into consideration. He had offered up himself for tests not out of worrying about the other digimon but for a chance to get closer to Ken.

"Fine I'll help you, only so you can remember your true self," even now, things aren't any different for Stingmon.

A large explosion could be heard from deeper within the air ship. "Alright then, it's about time we wrap things up for the day and get out of here," Ken managed a smirk. "Let's go find that guy and his partner and show them what we can really do."

Finding the boy wasn't hard. While the controlled digimon stayed out of the blonds' way, they easily gave away his location. Even then, Ken and Stingmon just had to fallow the sounds of destruction permeating the base. As the two turned the corner, they managed to spot the intruders right before they entered the main engine room.

"Stop right there," the brunette yelled. The blond stopped in his tracks and turned around. Suddenly having the boy's focus made him nervous. It wasn't the same as talking to Stingmon. This time he had no idea what to say. He only regained composure once Stingmon gave him a light nudge. "I need to tell you something," he took a deep breath; "I'm no longer the Digimon Kaiser."

The blond gave his winged horse a quick questioning glance. "What…?" He focused back on to Ken.

That wasn't it. Ken knew what he wanted to say but not how. "I mean, I lost my memory." The blonds' brow knitted further in confusion. "Wait… what I'm trying to say is that, I'm not the same person I was before. I've changed." Ken could feel the pause after his giving his earnest declaration. He didn't know if it was out of curiosity but the boy hadn't turned back to the door yet.

"I gave you a chance to speak earlier and you decided to hit me," Takeru wiped blood off his cheek. "However, seeing how Wormmon managed to evolve, you aren't attacking my anymore, and that I have bad judgment, I'll let you try again."

Ken went over Wormmon's evolution and how the holy light of the digivice removed the dark influence from him. He explained his lost memories but there were more holes than even he expected. "I only recall my actions as the Kaiser and nothing else. I don't even remember my family."

"Okay, stop," Takeru halted the boy. Anymore information and he might start forgetting things himself. "So you had a change of heart. Does that mean you'll stop going around enslaving the digital world?"

"Yes! I never want to repeat those actions ever again," Ken was glad that he could convince the boy of his new found sense of self. "I'm glad you believe me."

"Trust me; after you see mind controlled digimon on two separate, unrelated occasions, it becomes a really easy excuse to swallow," Takeru waved off. "Besides, as I said before, the Digimon Kaiser wouldn't have been able to digivolve Wormmon. That being said, what do we do now?"

Ken noticed the way he had asked that question. The blond was expecting something from him and it wasn't cooperation. "Now, we finish our fight from before."

"Why?" Pegasusmon gasped. "If you've really changed and aren't going to be the Digimon Kaiser anymore, why keep fighting us?"

"Because I'm still responsible for this base and that monster outside," Ken answered. "I won't let you destroy them just because I regret one misstep. I need to clean up my own mess with my own two hands."

"What a weird from of guilt and responsibility," Takeru assessed. "You're more upset about not understanding the things you did than the actual actions themselves. Fine," he chuckled, "that's what I wanted to hear anyway."

"But, Takeru," Pegasusmon stomped his hoof, "we've been given so many chances to retreat and you haven't taken any of them. I know that you think the others being safe means you can act as reckless as you want but what about me? I'm here to protect you but you keep insisting to pick a fight." The way Takeru was acting was making him feel uneasy. It was almost the same feeling Ken had been giving off in the walk way.

The blond looked at his partner and gripped his digivice. The flying horse started to glow and shrank down back to his hamster like form. "I know it's not fair but let me be selfish this time." Takeru stubbornness shocked the flying mammal. "I'll apologize to everyone afterwards but let's give this a go, together." Takeru was unyielding but still wanted his partner to be able to understand him. "I wasn't brought to this world just for you to protect me."

Ken watched the small creature start to glow again and fallowing a bright flash of light stood a muscular angel. "Well then, fallow me." He led them away from the central power room.

The four of them found themselves back at a familiar stairway. The accent to the outside deck was a long and quiet. The only thing that cut through the silence was a loud ping. The blond pulled out his D-terminal and checked the message. Ken couldn't help but fidget at the boy's typing.

"It's my friends you know," Takeru answered. "I wish they would leave, honestly," he huffed. "If I was in their place I wouldn't either, but I don't need this much kindness right now."

"You're really taking this in stride," Ken noticed. "I thought you would have fought me right there in the engine room."

"What can I say, you're stupid request spoke to me," Takeru answered. "Your selfishness reminded me of my own."

"You mean how you asked your friends to leave even though you're still in danger?" Stingmon questioned.

"Takeru originally wanted to bring just Tentomon, but Iori was already up when we decided to scope out your base," Angemon explained.

"I knew your base could fly so I was hoping we'd run into you in the air and Iori could wait until we mapped out the area," Takeru shook his head.

"But it wasn't flying and even then, your friends came for you anyway." Ken finished for him.

"Well, having them come was the backup plan if anything went wrong."

"You guys are a team yet you want to go and run off all by yourself, but I still don't get why?"

"If I had come with just Patamon and Tentomon then we're the only ones that have to worry about the risks. Then the risks I can take by myself also become greater."

An amused chuckle left the brunette's lips, "what an awfully selfish and a horrible sense of kindness."

"That was the original goal at least," the blond smiled. "But when I saw Devimon in a monitor in the holding area, something inside of me started to tighten. You know the feeling. It's like there's an irritating itch inside of you that won't let you sit still."

Ken's eyes narrowed at the blond.

"If you didn't feel that way, you wouldn't want to fight me. You want to see if you've really any different from the Digimon Kaiser. To see if you can still change yourself."

Their steps seemed to echo more with the boy's words.

"Words and feelings aren't good enough for you. You need results and you don't care how you get them. It was the same for me when you said you'd delete Pegasusmon. If I've really changed from the person who faced Devimon, then I wouldn't let that happen ever again. I'd defeat you no matter what, even if you've changed."

Everyone noticed that the blonds' features grew as sharp as his words, but the smile never left his face. Was he being affected by the whirlpool's dark powers like Ken had been?

Something inside of Ken knew that what he was witnessing was the boy's true feelings. To be motivated by the lost of something precious, was something he felt was familiar for him. The tightness in his chest started to be replaced by a rapid heartbeat.

"So just want me to admit that I was also looking for a fight from the start?" Ken also couldn't help but grin. The blonds' growing smirk was all the answer he needed.

The two pairs made their way into the harsh sunlight of the top of the airship. Not a single cloud littered the sky. The two digimon took to the skies, never looking away from each other.

"Is this alright, Ken?" Stingmon questioned. "I think the both of you should stop while you can."

"He's not going to stop, Stingmon," Ken explained. He didn't think he would smile in the sunlight like he was. "He's wants the same thing as me and this is the only way we're going to get it."

"You should really stop, Takeru." Angemon asked one final time. "The others are still down there, waiting for us."

The blond never once took his eyes off of Ken. He couldn't help but grin, "If they're safe then this has nothing to do with them. If they decided to stay and watch then let's give them a show; attack!"

With that, the fight began. The two digimon almost disappeared from sight as they soared through the skies, striking each other. The two took to no time warming up as they circled the ship's exterior twice over. They looked to be an even match.

With Ken now awakened to the digital world, he now understood how his partnership with Stingmon worked. It was his spirit and energy that helped pushed the monster forward. He had always thought that Wormmon was useless but the little monster managed to digivolve for his sake. It was his turn to help him and finish this fight as quickly as possible.

Takeru was so focused on the fight that he didn't even notice the incoming fist that connected with his nose. He staggered backwards and looked ahead to find Ken rushing at him with his fists clenched. He quickly raised his guard and fended off the boy's attacks. It didn't take him long to figure out the other's plan and decided to play along. It wasn't just the other digimon that needed to be defeated but the whole pair.

Unbeknownst to the dueling pairs, the chimera coasting in the air growled at the battle before it. Seeing two enemies releasing brutal intent stirred is dark blood. It growled at the fight before it in anticipation to join as well. With a roar it spread its wings and burst towards the fray.

Both monster and human looked towards the incoming amalgamation in time to separate themselves from an incoming beam attack. A burning line was drawn between the sets of partners. The monster's roars were strong enough to push the two boys towards the edge of the airship. The two could only cover their ears, and narrow their eyes at the overwhelming sound. While their senses were overloaded, the combined beast took this chance to launch another laser.

Before it had the chance to regurgitate another beam, Angemon and Stingmon struck its abdomen. The monster choked on its own energy for a moment but still managed to spit it up at the children's feet.

While the blast didn't connect, its resulting explosion forced Takeru's feet off the side of the airship. Within the light of the explosion he could make out a shape reaching towards him. He reflexively grabbed the given arm and realized that it belonged to Ichijouji. The desperate look in the boy's eye caught him off guard.

However noble Ken actions were; they weren't enough to save Takeru from the fall. In his haste, he didn't notice how far off the ship the blond was blown. They both no longer had any footing and quickly succumbed to gravity. Because the airship had recently emerged from the center of the whirlpool, not even water was below the two of them to soften the fall. Only darkness stared back at them.

A flash of light erupted from the skies that managed to steal the boy's attention. Chimeramon was charging another attack for the two of them. The only thing that came to Ken's mind was holding up his digivice in defense. Takeru fallowed suite but it didn't matter, for as soon as they got ready, the heat blast was upon them. Their true defense was their partners coming in at the last minute to take the hit for them.

The other chosen children and freed digimon watched as the two monsters were washed over by the strong attack; their faces tensed in anxiety. It was only made worse when the two Adult digimon reverted to their Child forms and the two human children fell without the slightest movements. They gasped as all four of them fell into the center of the whirlpool while Chimeramon roared in victory.

The whirlpool responded to its newest additions by spinning faster and radiating even more darkness. The shadows rose up and washed over the islands in a thin mist. The lingering spirits soon fallowed the darkness and gathered around the other children causing a chill to run down their spines.

Chimeramon looked down at the rest of its targets. It reveled in the spreading darkness as it dived at the rest of the children. Its mouth glowed with another attack but was stopped by suddenly slamming into a giant crest of hope.

Suddenly two beams of gold and violet erupted from the center of the center of the whirlpool. They twisted around each other until they tapered apart and landed on two islands on the opposite ends of the whirlpool.

Chimeramon scratched and bit at the crest in its path. The spirits similarly, had to deal with a mysterious violet crest banishing them away.

The chosen children looked back to find their fallen friend. Takeru was soaking wet and panting for air but he looked to be fine. His eyes looked dark and tired, but he managed to start taking steps towards them.

The evil spirits that had been repelled rushed towards the boy only to be reflected again by the same violet crest. One by one, they were eradicated merely by its presence. Before any of his friends could protest him still moving around, he made his way past them and out to an island that was closer to the whirlpool.

Chimeramon howled and roared at the golden barrier before him. He charged up another laser for the wall in front of him. He fired expecting the crest to brake like flimsy glass, but instead he got his laser reflected right back at himself.

The single chosen across the whirlpool gave the monster a quick glance before focusing on the blond on the island at the other end of the vortex.

Having dispelled the nuisances, the two chosen boys looked across the ever expanding whirlpool. No more words were exchanged as the two pointed the digivices to the skies. Violet and gold once again raced upward, and just as quickly fell back into the dark whirlpool. Two humanoid Perfect digimon rose from the darkness. An eight winged angle with an arm mounted sword appeared form the violet rays. A radiant insect knight holding a spear rested within the gold.

Everyone was amazed at the sight of the two Perfect digimon. Their power radiated to all the surrounding islands, purifying the evil mist. Not only the sky, but now even the air was clear. The sun shined down on the battlefield as everything started to quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the two boy's shouts.

It took less than a second for the two digimon to make contact. It only lasted for a moment but the resulting power exploded into an orb of pure light. It blew up everything that wasn't holding on to something. The swirling water expanded even further by the tremendous force. The quick execution resulted in the whirlpool to erupt towards the sky once the water converged back in on itself.

Even thought the sun was shining right down on them, water dropped from the sky. It took a while for the children to regain their senses but the roar of Chimeramon grabbed their attention. They watched as its large body retreated to the flying base. They noticed that the Kaiser was no longer on the island across the water. Even after all of that, he was able to get away.

After accepting tier positions, they looked for their friend. He was laid out on his back with Tokomon resting in one arm. His other was blocking the sun and the retreating digimon from view.

The blond glared at the digivice in his hand. Its black body and violet grips only made his scowl deepen. He had gotten what he wanted; he had confirmed his improvement, but he had still lost. The only thing he could do was groan as he rested his arm over his eyes.

Ken on the other hand was in a constant state of thought. His mind tried to encapsulate the last few minutes. He set the airbase on auto pilot and leaned back in his chair. The digivice in his hand was black with green grips. Had the blond really been tainted like he was? Not completely, at least. He wouldn't have been able to use the crest's power; his crest's power.

The boy used his free hand to rub at his temples. His mind was full of so much knowledge, but he couldn't connect any of it.

"Digimon Kaiser…?" Wormmon slipped back into old habits.

"Don't call me that anymore," the boy sighed. "Ken, is just fine. Even if I don't know who I am, I know that I'm not the Digimon Kaiser anymore."

"Really?" the worm started to jitter with excitement.

"Really," that was a fact that he had proved with his own two hands. "Well, I still need to figure out who Ken is," he smiled.

The boy looked back at his monitors. He watched the other chosen fallow on their mobile islands. They weren't trying to catch up but they probably still wanted his airship in their sights. That was fine by him; he wanted to meet them again. He needed to get his digivice back and they needed to defeat him. As long as this base was still flying and Chimeramon was still breathing, they hadn't defeated the Digimon Kaiser. He wasn't the Kaiser anymore but that didn't mean he was their companion. He wanted them to come out on top, but they had to work for it. As his grip around the device tightened, his smile grew wider. His fight with that boy, with Takeru, wasn't finished yet. 

* * *

**AN: This one-shot is about Ken and Takeru. I've stated before that this is a duo that really interests me.**

 **I really didn't care for Ken's characterization in the anime. The Digimon Kaiser is not Ken Ichijouji, just a character that Ken was. He takes nothing away from the experience nor does it give us much of a look into Ken's character, just his past. When it did give us a look into his character, the anime didn't do anything with it.**

 **So when I approach Ken, I like to mix his Kaiser image with his normal one as much as I can. I've never really been able to do that outside of writing close to cannon so maybe you'll and see a more open Au with him.**

 **When it comes to writing Takeru and Ken I like to focus on their similarities. They are characters that are built up by the other people around them. Ken's jealousy of his brother and Takeru's search for independence set up the backbone of their relationship in my mind. Two people who have something to prove to the people around them and to themselves. Both of them are pretty sensitive to others so I feel like they can relate easily. It's also really flexible theme if I want that relation to be good, bad, or both. If digimon was more battle focused like a pokemon, I think those two would make the best rivals.**

 **As for Takeru, I really wanted to show how why he handles different situations. To me Takeru is a character is able to smile through any emotion. That's why he able to smile even when being extremely aggressive.**

 **Once again, I appreciate you getting this far with my story. If you want leave a comment, review, or just a exclamation. Half of these one-shot might just be extras of stories that I've completed but I'm glad I was able to give you something original for this chapter. I still have more side stories and originals to go so keep a look out for more.**


	3. Try

**Try**

The streets of Odaiba were forced to a halt once again. The commuters had no idea why until they spotted a large, eight winged angel flying though the sky. What they hadn't noticed was that the digital angle was chasing a boy swerving though the traffic on a bike. He felt his phone vibrate again but paid it no mind. Now wasn't the time to worry about the others. His grip on the handle bars tightened as pain ran through is left arm. He readjusted the belt around his shoulder and kept pedaling.

The boy quickly got off the main road and went down a side path. He didn't know when the monster would attack and being surrounded by cars was obviously a bad idea. As if on cue an energy blast came right at him. He leaned out of the way and though of where he could take the destruction. The image of the bay came to mind and he knew of the perfect place to go.

Even though he was panting, he managed to make his way to Daiba Park. It was the place they had met up at before they went around the world. Noting but grass and water. The land next to him exploded with light that sent him flying into a group of trees. He managed to get to his feet as he held his bandaged left arm. Losing sight of the angel digimon made him nervous. It was only when he saw another flash did he make a break from the bush.

The fallowing explosion pushed him to the ground. He managed to lift himself up just enough to see the angelic digimon floating above. He couldn't help but grit his teeth. The infection had completely spread and his partner had lost his mind.

The past week had been a nightmare. When he went to meet Patamon and the other digimon, the symptoms started to show up. He was bitten and he had to make up an excuse to take Patamon home with him. With each passing day, it just kept getting worse with is partner becoming more violent. It didn't help when Yamato came to visit and he had to hide his wounds.

Yet all of that didn't compare to the other infected digimon that kept showing up. It was as if Patamon's infection was attracting them and they were all mindless monsters looking to destroy anything around them. If an infected Patamon was enough to trash his room without him there to intervene then a rampaging Angemon was much worse. Somehow he was able to deal with both but each encounter ended the same way; with a digimon permanently dying in the real world. It kept reminding him of his partner's inevitable fate.

The boy watched the Perfect level angel fiercely. He tugged the belt around his shoulder swung the weapon he was holding to his hands. It was a special electromagnetic gun created by the secret digital organization that was monitoring him and the others. They had found him last night after a pretty bad fight and while HolyAngemon went berserk in their building he managed to snag a weapon for himself.

It looked like some sort of rife. The closest he had ever gotten to a gun was in a video game or a movie so he hoped that all he had to do was pull the trigger. He lifted the heavy weapon and took aim. He didn't know if he was tired or if the pain was getting to him but he couldn't keep his hand steady. While he hesitated with the gun his partner dive bombed him. It took everything he had to hold the weapon up in defense as the angel's arm mounted sword sliced at him.

The blonds' back was forced to the ground. He saw the angel raise his sword once more. This time the gun was cleaved straight through. The only reason the boy was still in one piece was because he had propped the gun up with his left arm. The one that was bandaged with Angemon's blue wrapping. They managed to protect the boy but they weren't enough to keep him for denting the earth beneath him.

Again, the angel's blade pointed skyward. The boy could only choke at his demise. As he watched the digimon's falling arm, his eyes twitched at an even faster movement. The angel was being pelted a bunch of flickers of light. He turned to his right to find a bunch of men in suits with the same gun he had.

They ceased their fire when someone raised their hand. That same person rushed out to him to make sure he was okay.

"Takaishi!" Maki Himekawa bent down to the blonds' side. "Are you alright?" The boy in her hands nodded back. "What you did was stupid. You don't think you can fight off a digimon by yourself, do you?"

"I didn't have a choice," the blond sat up. "HolyAngemon went crazy and he was fallowing me. I had to get out of the building no matter what."

The two remembered what had happened at the agency building. The boy and his partner had gotten in a heated argument when they were contacted about the reappearance of Meicoomon. The blond had denied his partner from going and that heated moment of anger must have set off the infection within him. Chaos ensued after that.

"Still, what would the news think of a boy riding through the city with a gun on his back? Furthermore, these weapons can't take down an Adult level, let alone a Perfect one." The two watched the Perfect level digimon push his way through the second round of suppression fire.

"But I still have to do something about it, he's my partner," the boy grunted as he stood up. "Give me another weapon."

The woman looked at the boy with disbelief. How could he demand to keep fighting? He was covered in dirt and scratches from running around and not taking proper care of himself for the past few days. Dark circles formed around his eyes from a lack of sleep. He sported an assortment of bruises. Worst of all was his bandaged left arm that shook as if it couldn't be raised anymore.

"Just leave the fighting to us," she stressed again. "We just need to hold out for a few minutes until the reboot starts and then we'll be home free."

"Reboot?" He noticed Himekawa's eyes widening at his question. He was quickly informed of the details of the event that was soon to come. He was told about how the digimon would return to the digital world and would forget everything about them. "Can we stop it?"

"No." she lied. There was one way to stop the reboot, but right now there was no way the children would do it. There was no way for this boy in front of her to do anything about it.

The thought of HolyAngemon forgetting him caused his body to shudder. It was almost as bad as when Patamon had asked him to kill him when he found out about his infection. The reboot wouldn't just affect Patamon but all of the other digimon he had fought. They would come back to life; however, his friends' partners would forget them for no reason at all. So many results and consequences played through the blonds' head. Yet, even if he thought everything out what choice did he have? What could he do about any of it? He couldn't help but remember everything that had brought him to this one moment.

Remember? It was as if a switch in his head suddenly flipped on. His eyes looked towards the incoming HolyAngemon. He slipped into his partner's shoes for just a moment. Wondering what his partner would want. That was all he needed for his resolve to harden once again.

Maki saw the Perfect level angel finally break through their attack. It rushed, shield first at the two. She reached out and tried to push Takaishi to the ground but he wouldn't budge. She watched as the angel hit with a loud crash.

The angel digimon did land a hit, however it wasn't with the blond in front of him. It was as if he hit an invisible wall blocking the two. It watched the boy glare at him. It roared and started slashing at the wall with its Excalibur arm blade.

Maki was left speechless as the rest of the onlookers cheered. Had Takaishi, done this? She looked to him and noticed the bandaged on his arm started to change colors. It went from blue to purple and finally yellow. She also noticed him pull up another rifle. It was the one she had carried with her. A small smile graced his lips as he pointed it at the digimon. When he fired, a bullet didn't fly out but a yellow beam blasted straight through the digimon. The angel was blasted away from them and landed into a patch of trees.

"Stay here." Takeru spoke as he dashed towards the shrubs.

Maki tried fallowing, but she too hit the invisible wall. As she watched the boy pass through, the wall suddenly took a light shade of yellow. Its wall domed around the entire squad she had brought with her. Was this the power of the crests that those children possessed? That was the only difference between her and them. Her mind quickly went to his bandages that were from Angemon. If Angemon represented blue, and HolyAngemon represented purple; then was that yellow suppose to represent the level after Perfect?

The digimon in question rose to give the woman her answer. A fully armored blue and silver angel with ten golden wings rose to the skies. Even with its eyes hidden, anyone could tell that it was watching the boy. It started to dive once more but it soon lost its trajectory as its wings started coming off, one by one.

Once again, Maki was drawn to the boy's hands. His right held a handgun that looked a bit too familiar. She checked the inside of her blazer and realized that her second weapon had also been taken. She watched as the angel crash landed in front of his partner.

The blond pointed the rifle once more only for it to be slashed to the side. He raised the handgun but it quickly disappeared from his sight when red obscured his vision. The blood hid the Mega level digimon calling down his next attack.

Maki and the onlookers watched the boy's body be encompassed by a bolt of lightning. It dragged the boy across the ground towards them. Even the force field couldn't hold it back. The yellow shield shattered like glass as the lighting blot kept going until it hit one of the cars that had carried them to the park. They were silenced by the extreme violence they had just witnessed. All were unable to take their eyes away from the boy lying in front of them or the monster slowly moving towards them.

Maki's eyes couldn't be dragged away from the motionless boy. The barrier had stopped him, and dropped him right at her feet. Seeing his missing hand caused visions of her childhood to flash before her. She thought she was preventing life from being unjustly stolen. She shouldn't be the one helping it to be taken away. She felt like she hadn't cried in years but this familiar scene caused her eyes to well up. This wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want this at all.

Before anyone could move to get to their shaking superior, the angel digimon was already standing above her. They were all too intimidated to make a noise, let alone make a move. They could do nothing as they watched the angel rise its hand once again to call forth lighting.

The sky flashed with light as the electricity came raining down but it did not hit is target. Above the two humans rested a red figure. As soon as the shocking element died down, it revealed itself as a white, bladed monster. It dived down and forced back the angel digimon once more.

Maki's eyes managed to wander up once more. She had no clue of who the new digimon was. Its red cape and bone white body were lost to her. The next thing to catch her attention was the three orange spirits floating around her. Orb shaped balls of flames with v-shaped visors and spear like arms. They started spinning faster around her and the child. She watched as the boy's body started to glow in the same orange light.

The battle between two Ultimate digimon quickly took to the air. No matter how much the white digimon attacked it couldn't land a decisive hit on the angel. The best he could do was making sure that its attacks landed in the bay. He parried the incoming attack but was caught unaware by seven orbs suddenly surrounding him. With his focus split between the humans below and the current threat, he couldn't overcome the sudden attack.

Smoke filled the air as the attack landed on target. The capped digimon fell into the bay as the angel once again charged towards the humans with its beam saber.

The female agent could no longer move. The stress, fear, and sorrow had sapped away her energy. She closed her eyes, prepared for the attack. However, the impact didn't come. Her eyes cracked open to witness the blond once again standing up to his partner.

This time his shield was much smaller and focused. It was as if a single glass wall separated the two. It didn't take long for cracks to start running down the boy's shield.

"What are you doing," words left her mouth without a thought.

"I remembered," the blond coughed, "I remembered Patamon asking me to kill him." The shield shattered to pieces but the boy still managed to hold the colossal hand back. "I remembered the deaths of the infected digimon." He was starting to be pushed back. "I remember lying to my brother when he asked if I was alright." He was forced to his knee. "I remembered Angemon dying." Blood started to seep from in-between the layers of his bandaging.

"What are you talking about?" The woman couldn't understand the boy's ramblings.

"No matter how much I don't want to, my mind keeps reminding me of these awful feelings," Takeru struggled. "I'll always remember this moment, and I don't want to remember me being useless or running away anymore. I don't want to remember Patamon hurting innocent people." The ground around him started to give way.

She couldn't understand him. How could he manage to keep pushing back? She could clearly see it was eating away at him, but he still pushed forward. The ground beneath him soon crumbled and he was forced to his back. His pained yells echoed through her body.

It was almost pitch black. The angel's large hands kept out most of the sunlight. He cursed his own inability. It didn't matter how strong his body or heart had become. His feelings weren't worth fighting for. His vision started to darken even more. He couldn't help his friends. He couldn't protect Himekawa. He couldn't keep his promise to Patamon. The only thing he could do was apologize under the pressure.

*BANG*

The loud noise managed to return the blond to his senses. He leaned his head back and caught a glimpse of Himekawa holding a glowing handgun. Two of the three spirits were floating behind her.

"Stop, damn it," the secret agent yelled. "He's your partner. Even if you're infected, you can't kill him." One of the two spirits flowed into the weapon and it started to glow brighter. She fired off another shot, and while it wasn't ineffective, the monster still didn't lift its hand. The last spirit also entered the gun. She pulled the trigger one last time as the final bullet shattered the gun in her hands.

The shot tore straight through the angel's arm, holding Takeru down. It shattered into digital pieces that rained down onto the boy. The digimon paused only for a moment before diverting its attention to the woman who attacked it. It reached out with its other arm only to feel a tug on its midsection.

"I said…" the Takeru pushed back as hard as he could with is arms, "I wouldn't let you hurt her!" His head rammed against the metal armor as he started to rise back up. His wrappings started to shine in a brilliant green color. And explosion of energy forced the two apart. He quickly regained his footing and clenched his left fist. With a shout and a thrust of his arm, a large beam of green shot forth, enveloping the infected digimon.

Maki and the others were blinded by the intense light. It was only when she felt the drip of water falling on her did she try to open her eyes. The sun shined through the mirrored crest of the parted waves. Standing perfectly in front of the flowing background of the water, was the blond who had caused it.

Why? How? Her mind was spinning. Feelings of relief and guilt mixed into confusion. Why would Takaishi go so far to protect her? How could Takeru find the inner strength to kill his own partner?

"I remembered…" Takeru almost whispered, "I remembered the first time we went to Primary Village. Everyone was laughing."

Her eyes widened as the boy turned towards her. The blood, sweat and tears were expected but not the smile.

"That feeling of our hearts connecting; I still remember it. When you saved me, I could feel yours and it reminded me of that." He looked towards the white digimon that had emerged from the bay and its spirits, "when I felt theirs, and when I felt his," he looked at the bloody bandaged that had turned back to yellow. "So…" he looked up at her and managed to give a wide smile through his tears, "thank you."

Maki couldn't help but tear up as well. Feelings she thought she had suppressed starting to bubble to the surface. She too was reminded of the digimon she knew. Reminded of the sacrifices that were made and the ones she couldn't make herself. That ones she wasn't allowed to make herself.

This child, Takeru, was able to choose how to end things with his own two hands. He had fought for that choice. It made her question what she had been doing in the shadows all along. It made her question her relationship with the children that she had faked all along. She knew that the world wasn't fair and that it would lie and cheat you, but that didn't mean she had to be a part of that.

She watched Takeru's face tighten more and his smile slowly turned into a frown. The boy broke down to his knees, finally taking on all of his exhaustion and started to fully cry out his sorrow. As if answering the boy's wails, her tears also started to flow. The only ones to move were the orange spirits of the capped digimon watching over them.

After connecting with the spirits of the still present Ultimate, she started to get a sense of who it was. If that digimon was truly who she thought it was then that meant the fight with Meicoomon wasn't over yet. Why had it come here instead of over there? Was it like her and worried about Takeru? Speaking of the boy, he started to get back onto his feet. The orange spirits seemed to be circling around him once again.

Takeru huff and puffed as he got to his feet. He noticed that he wasn't in as much pain as a person who had lost a limb should be. Was it the effects of the orange spirits? "The reboot hasn't happened yet, right?" he asked Himekawa.

The woman looked at him with surprise. She had forgotten the time and called for one of her men to give her the estimated time before the digital world reset itself. It was thirty minutes away and that time would fluctuate on the whims on the one who judged the balance of the digital world, Homeostasis.

"Then the convention center is the next stop," the blond started to make his move until Himekawa held his shoulders in place.

"Your fight is over, the others can take care of themselves," the adult asserted. "The only stop you're making is to the hospital."

"No it isn't," the boy fought back. "They can't fight Meicoomon by themselves. They'll freeze up, just like I did."

"And won't they overcome it, just like you did?" she questioned back.

"I didn't…" before he could get the words out, the air vibrated with energy as the sky started to turn dark. The once blue sky was replaced with the land of the digital world. It was a repeat of what had happen six years ago. "We don't have time for this, if we don't hurry then reboot or not, something awful will happen."

Maki looked to the nostalgic landscape above her. The world above her was filled with purple blotches and dark spots. Had the digital world become that damaged over time? "Fine," she conceded to the boy. "Hurry up and get over here so we can treat your wounds. I don't know what you can do, but if you can pull off another miracle again then you'll need all the help you can get."

The blond held up his arms for the woman to inspect. He wondered if he would really be able to do anything about the distortions. He'd have to kill more digimon. His whole body almost shut down at that thought. He didn't want to do that again but he knew he would have to. Just like he did with his partner, he would kill any monster that got in his way. 

* * *

**AN: This time I worked within Adventure Tri. To be honest, I really didn't care for Tri, so writing for it was a bit cathartic.**

 **In Takeru's case, his story was one of inaction and forgiveness. That's a fine theme and all but it's really hard to write for and I don't think it was done well. Its emotional core was dependent on nostalgia and it was further used to affect all of the other characters who also lost their partners. Forgiveness comes forgiving Meiko and if you want, you could see as a form or him forgiving himself but it comes after he decided to go meet Patamon again. It just felt he was the one chosen to be put into a similar situation as Meiko so it wouldn't feel weird for the group to forgive her because there was no way any of them were going to hold a grudge over her. Basically, Takeru didn't have a plot element fully reflect solely on his character and was more of a torch bearer for everyone else.**

 **That's really weak considering Tri is all about how the children are growing and changing. The thing I love about Takeru's character is that out of all of the children, his experiences in the digital world would have changed him the most. So to see a whole movie where his main focus is a story that could have been told with almost any other character and is only extra effective with him is disappointing. I didn't learn anything more about Takeru; he didn't make any personal choices that changed him in that movie.**

 **That's why this story focused so hard on Takeru dealing with actually having to kill his partner. It's not that the original plot point wasn't dark enough or bad, it was that it wasn't dynamic. Takeru was just sad the whole time until the end. I wanted to show some sort of thought process, some other emotion to the whole situation.**

 **Another think that bothered me was the use of all of the side characters like Maki and Hackmon. What's the point of Maki and Daigo being chosen if it doesn't really affect their relationship with the children? Theme being there doesn't even affect the plot. Who cares if Maki knew about the reboot? Who cares that she lied to the children, when all of these events would have happened anyway.**

 **So that's why I wrote about a how she felt about what she was doing. I had her actually witness firsthand the things she was doing. In Tri she felt too distant and I know that was the point but her actions and character don't relate back to the plot at all.**

 **This just turned into a rant but it's that Tri disappointed me so much. The actual plot wasn't what bothered be but its execution was frustrating**

 **Complaining aside, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I might come back to some of these one-shots and continue them so it might not be the last you see of this story. Be sure to leave a comment if you want to and look forward to more chapters.**


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